Private sector lender HDFC Bank expects normalcy to return within three months. In an interview, Arvind Kapil, HDFC Bank’s country head, retail lending, said demand for loans was intact, as was evident from disbursals for auto and two-wheeler loans making a steady recovery since the lifting of lockdown in May.
“As the lockdown opens up, everything will normalize. I expect it to normalize over the first 30-90 days. The only anxiety is of businesses opening up. However, we see a robust economy coming back pretty fast. In two-wheeler segment we are seeing 85% run rate (for loan disbursals) and we started barely one month ago. Auto is at 50% run rate. They are talking about 75% run-rate in the second month. People are talking about green-shoots. So, India’s demand is for real," Kapil said. Out of its total loan book of ₹9.93 trillion, HDFC Bank’s retail loans are worth ₹4.94 trillion, with auto loans constituting 16% and two-wheelers 1.9% of the portfolio.
The bank is also beefing up its digital reach for both new and old customers, and had recently tied up with Maruti Suzuki to disburse auto loans digitally. “We are focussing on open market and internal customers. With video KYC, we are beefing up our digital strength on all businesses—personal, auto, mortgage," he added.